Gaethje dismisses Topuria's loaded-gloves claim as 'lame excuse' but welcomes rematch

Justin Gaethje has dismissed Ilia Topuria’s cheating accusation as a transparent attempt to manufacture rematch interest, telling reporters he is simply “enjoying being the champ” after his knockout victory at UFC White House in June.

Topuria posted a statement on social media this week declaring himself healthy and ready to compete, before alleging that Gaethje had used loaded gloves during their lightweight title fight. Gaethje stopped Topuria when the Georgian-Spaniard could not answer the bell for the fifth round, handing him his first professional loss and stripping him of the lightweight title.

Gaethje was blunt in his rebuttal. “People don’t believe that,” he said. “I’ve done that to everybody’s face that I’ve fought.” When pressed for a more detailed response, he declined: “Nope. No, I’m just enjoying being the champ.”

The timing of Topuria’s allegation has not gone unnoticed. In the months since the defeat, Topuria had made no mention of any foul play — a fact Gaethje acknowledged when suggesting the accusation is more about generating headlines than genuine grievance. “That’s not the way to do it,” Gaethje said, implying Topuria could find a more credible route to a second fight.

Topuria suffered facial fractures in the loss, leaving his return timeline unclear, but he has since identified Gaethje as his primary target. Gaethje, for his part, expects his next title defence to come in early 2027 and has not ruled out giving Topuria the rematch he is seeking.

“We’ll see,” Gaethje said. “Time will tell. Am I willing to? I just beat the shit out of him, of course, I would.”

The former two-division champion Topuria will need to rebuild his case for a title shot through official channels if he wants the UFC to sanction the rematch — and, by Gaethje’s reckoning, a social media cheating accusation is not the way to make it happen.